NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution鈥檚 suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies before sentencing. They called the idea 鈥渁bsurd.鈥�
The Manhattan district attorney's office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to 鈥減retend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,鈥� Trump鈥檚 lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response.
In court papers made public Tuesday, office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump鈥檚 lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed.
Those options include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won't include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn't sentenced and his appeal wasn鈥檛 resolved because of presidential immunity.
Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday that the only acceptable option to them is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country.
The Manhattan district attorney鈥檚 office declined comment.
It鈥檚 unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump鈥檚 request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution鈥檚 suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump鈥檚 parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option.
In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution鈥檚 suggestions.
Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the 鈥渙ngoing threat鈥� that he鈥檒l be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20.
鈥淭o be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,鈥� the defense lawyers wrote. 鈥淗owever, the threat itself is unconstitutional.鈥�
The prosecution鈥檚 suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. If anything, the immunity statute should require dropping the case altogether, not merely limiting the judge鈥檚 sentencing options, they argued.
Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution鈥檚 novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died.
Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to 鈥渇abricate鈥� a solution 鈥渂ased on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump" who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September 鈥渁nd a hypothetical dead defendant.鈥�
Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what鈥檚 already a unique case.
鈥淭his remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,鈥� prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn鈥檛 鈥減recipitously discard鈥� the 鈥渕eaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.鈥�
Prosecutors acknowledged that 鈥減residential immunity requires accommodation鈥� during Trump鈥檚 impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend a jury鈥檚 finding that came while he was out of office.
Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face . Other world leaders don鈥檛 enjoy the same protection. For example, , a friend of Trump鈥檚, is even as he leads that nation鈥檚 wars in and .
Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his conviction on . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies.
In their filing Friday, Trump鈥檚 lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. used profane language to criticize Trump鈥檚 hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of .
鈥淲eaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,鈥� Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social.
Trump鈥檚 hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon 鈥� issued by Biden or himself when he takes office 鈥� would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes.
Since the election, special counsel has , which pertained to Trump鈥檚 efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
A separate in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all.
Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump鈥檚 Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president鈥檚 sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.
Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump鈥檚 to dismiss the case on immunity grounds.
A dismissal would erase Trump鈥檚 conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.
Michael R. Sisak And Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press
